Saturday, March 24, 2007
On Judge E.J. Sutherland of Dickenson County
April Cain of the Hillbilly Savants has this interesting post on Judge E.J. Sutherland of Dickenson County.
The latest District Court opinion on mountaintop mining
The anti-mountaintop mining removal people are proud to post this opinion from Judge Chambers of the S.D. W.Va., issued March 23, and ruling against the federal government's issuance of permits for the disposal of fill materials from mountaintop removal into the waters of the United States.
The odds are that this is a bad decision, from the perspective of administrative law. The presumptions are mainly in favor of the agency decision. The judge has ruled, in effect, that the pros at the Army Corps of Engineers bypassed some of the things they were supposed to think about before making their permit decisions, and so he remanded the permits for them to do more. One suspects that in another two years, they'll be back in the same place.
The opinion does contain one cool movie reference at footnote 65 - to Field of Dreams, one of my favorites. The plaintiffs characterized the Corps of Engineers' position on an issue related to new streams as the Field of Dreams theory, "[a]s in '[i]f you build it, [the streams] will come.
The odds are that this is a bad decision, from the perspective of administrative law. The presumptions are mainly in favor of the agency decision. The judge has ruled, in effect, that the pros at the Army Corps of Engineers bypassed some of the things they were supposed to think about before making their permit decisions, and so he remanded the permits for them to do more. One suspects that in another two years, they'll be back in the same place.
The opinion does contain one cool movie reference at footnote 65 - to Field of Dreams, one of my favorites. The plaintiffs characterized the Corps of Engineers' position on an issue related to new streams as the Field of Dreams theory, "[a]s in '[i]f you build it, [the streams] will come.
Best new immunity in Title 8.01
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference
This year's program includes this:
"For the Final Session on Saturday morning, we will be pleased to have Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., who will join us for the first time to provide 'Highlights of the 2006 Supreme Court Term' followed by a panel discussion in a Review of the Major Supreme Court Decisions. Professor A.E. Dick Howard will serve as Moderator of the panel that will include Professor Lillian R. Bevier, University of Virginia; Professor Walter E. Dellinger, III, Duke University; Thomas C. Goldstein, Esquire, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, and Professor Stephen A. Salzburg, George Washington University."
I like the look of the paperwork for the Judicial Conference, it seems sort of like getting an invitation to come watch The Masters. Even the capitalization in the Program conjures the image of something old and Southern. The papers for the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, which is periodically open to all, are in no way similar.
"For the Final Session on Saturday morning, we will be pleased to have Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., who will join us for the first time to provide 'Highlights of the 2006 Supreme Court Term' followed by a panel discussion in a Review of the Major Supreme Court Decisions. Professor A.E. Dick Howard will serve as Moderator of the panel that will include Professor Lillian R. Bevier, University of Virginia; Professor Walter E. Dellinger, III, Duke University; Thomas C. Goldstein, Esquire, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, and Professor Stephen A. Salzburg, George Washington University."
I like the look of the paperwork for the Judicial Conference, it seems sort of like getting an invitation to come watch The Masters. Even the capitalization in the Program conjures the image of something old and Southern. The papers for the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, which is periodically open to all, are in no way similar.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
On living happily ever after
I was in Richmond earlier in the week for the VBA Leadership conference and the highlight for me was meeting Jim Guy, the subject of this post.
And, I could tell that he was somewhat uncertain when I told him that I had read his blog, and liked it. His troubles were worse than any I ever had, but his last post from over a year ago ends like this: "They all lived happily ever after."
I'll take a happy ending, any day. That fellow who was married to Julie Whitt is still looking for one.
And, I could tell that he was somewhat uncertain when I told him that I had read his blog, and liked it. His troubles were worse than any I ever had, but his last post from over a year ago ends like this: "They all lived happily ever after."
I'll take a happy ending, any day. That fellow who was married to Julie Whitt is still looking for one.
Monday, March 19, 2007
On going digital in Norfolk Circuit Court
The Virginian-Pilot has this report on the plans of the circuit court clerk there to go paperless with the records of the court.
In a somewhat related story, Jurist reports here on a pilot project to make the audio from federal court proceedings available online.
In a somewhat related story, Jurist reports here on a pilot project to make the audio from federal court proceedings available online.
Lawyer sanctions instead of damages caps?
This story reports that in Tennessee, legislators are looking at bolstering sanctions against lawyers who bring frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits, as an alternative to imposing damages caps on medical malpractice awards.
The Faustian bargain for Exit 14
The Bristol paper notes correctly that it is a mistake for the Commonwealth to make transportation decisions based on "free" money, in connection with the proposed bargain of a new Exit 14 in return for VDOT's approval of access for a new superstore.
The same is true whether it is free money for truck lanes the length of Interstate 81, or an above-ground Metrorail extension to Tyson's Corner, or a new and improved Exit 14 to allow access to another Walmart. The highest priority should not be the maximization of private or federal funding.
Of course, if Exit 14 had been done right in the first place, it would not be an issue now.
The same is true whether it is free money for truck lanes the length of Interstate 81, or an above-ground Metrorail extension to Tyson's Corner, or a new and improved Exit 14 to allow access to another Walmart. The highest priority should not be the maximization of private or federal funding.
Of course, if Exit 14 had been done right in the first place, it would not be an issue now.
The United States is the Saudi Arabia of coal.
So says the author in this interesting article about the state of the coal business.
The article says in part:
"In the 1990s, the Energy Department funded a new kind of coal plant. Instead of pulverizing coal to burn it, engineers turned coal into a gas. Coal gasification wasn't new. Long before Edison opened the Pearl Street station, a rough form of gasified coal - called town gas - was used to light streets in many cities. Cleaner natural gas replaced town gas in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, although it is still burned in China and elsewhere. But the coal gasification plants pioneered by the Energy Department were unique. By gasifying the coal, engineers discovered it could be cleansed of nearly all pollutants, a major breakthrough for controlling emissions. The process, called IGCC for integrated gasification combined cycle technology, is used commercially today at only four plants in the world, two in the United States: one near Tampa, Fla., and another on the Wabash River near Terre Haute, Ind. They are among the world's cleanest power plants, having eliminated more than 90 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions and 98 percent of sulfur from coal. But they also are significantly more expensive to build than pulverized coal plants, which is why there are only two in the country."
Wikipedia has this explanation of the workings of an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle power plant. The article suggests that some in Europe but none of the IGCC experiments in the United States have been successful, and concludes: "Given the extreme cost of IGCC, heavy subsidies necessary to facilitate construction, and particularly because carbon capture and storage is so far in the future, it is doubtful that it can gain a foothold in the market."
The article says in part:
"In the 1990s, the Energy Department funded a new kind of coal plant. Instead of pulverizing coal to burn it, engineers turned coal into a gas. Coal gasification wasn't new. Long before Edison opened the Pearl Street station, a rough form of gasified coal - called town gas - was used to light streets in many cities. Cleaner natural gas replaced town gas in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, although it is still burned in China and elsewhere. But the coal gasification plants pioneered by the Energy Department were unique. By gasifying the coal, engineers discovered it could be cleansed of nearly all pollutants, a major breakthrough for controlling emissions. The process, called IGCC for integrated gasification combined cycle technology, is used commercially today at only four plants in the world, two in the United States: one near Tampa, Fla., and another on the Wabash River near Terre Haute, Ind. They are among the world's cleanest power plants, having eliminated more than 90 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions and 98 percent of sulfur from coal. But they also are significantly more expensive to build than pulverized coal plants, which is why there are only two in the country."
Wikipedia has this explanation of the workings of an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle power plant. The article suggests that some in Europe but none of the IGCC experiments in the United States have been successful, and concludes: "Given the extreme cost of IGCC, heavy subsidies necessary to facilitate construction, and particularly because carbon capture and storage is so far in the future, it is doubtful that it can gain a foothold in the market."
Sunday, March 18, 2007
More navel gazing over publishing the list of gun owners
The Roanoke paper, by publishing then pulling the list of gun permit holders, has surely made at least one mistake, possibly two.
In the first place, they could have written about the accessibility of this information without publishing all the names and addresses - they could have told the story without becoming the story. By publishing all the names, they maximized the public splash in ways that don't strike me as relevant to the goal of exploring FOIA.
In the second place, they quickly caved when the permittees complained about the invasion of their privacy, even though, as the paper now reports in this piece by Laurence Hammack, the privacy issues are largely hypothetical and other newspapers in other states continue to publish this information. The reporters probably smacked their foreheads when they learned of this editorial sell-out.
In the first place, they could have written about the accessibility of this information without publishing all the names and addresses - they could have told the story without becoming the story. By publishing all the names, they maximized the public splash in ways that don't strike me as relevant to the goal of exploring FOIA.
In the second place, they quickly caved when the permittees complained about the invasion of their privacy, even though, as the paper now reports in this piece by Laurence Hammack, the privacy issues are largely hypothetical and other newspapers in other states continue to publish this information. The reporters probably smacked their foreheads when they learned of this editorial sell-out.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
On Melungeons
This Wikipedia entry lists common surnames associated with Melungeons: "Almost every author on this subject gives a slightly different list of Melungeon-associated surnames, but the British surnames Collins and Gibson appear most frequently (genealogist Pat Elder calls them "core" surnames). Many researchers also include Bowling, Bunch, Denham, Dunaway, Goins, Goodman, Minor, Mise, Moore, Mullins, Rose, Williams, Wise, and several others (though this does not mean that all families with these surnames are Melungeon)."
Speaking of Collinses and Minors, here's my great-grandmother with her second husband, a fellow named Morgan Collins, and one of their Minor great-grandsons in Lee County in April 1965.
Speaking of Collinses and Minors, here's my great-grandmother with her second husband, a fellow named Morgan Collins, and one of their Minor great-grandsons in Lee County in April 1965.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Tales of swearings-in past
I'm excited to attend the investiture this afternoon of Judges Carico and Dotson, and it seems as good a time as any to recall tales of swearings-in past.
On the day when Justice Kinser was sworn in at Lee High School in Ben Hur, it was a great day. I rode over from Bristol with Jim Green and Joe Lyle. Afterwards, as the day was fine, I suggested that instead of going straight back to Bristol, we should detour to see my grandmother on the other side of Jonesville, and so we did. We almost missed her, she arrived as we were walking back to the car. You could hear the gravel fly as she mashed the brakes when she realized there were three men in dark suits standing in the road in front of her house. She came on, and oh, she was so glad to see us, and how handsome we were, she said, in our lawyer suits. We began trying to explain to her what we were doing in Lee County that day. I told her we had been to the high school. She said, "oh, were you taking a course?" "No, Grandma, we were there for a ceremony." Jim began telling her what a historic event it was, the elevation of a lawyer from Lee County to the highest court in Virginia.
But Grandma was unimpressed. She replied, as only a grandma could: "Well, now, Steven will be right up there soon."
Some years later, I attended the event for Judge Freeman at the Lincoln Theatre in downtown Marion. Following some good advice from Judge Flannagan, Judge Freeman studied the crowd, to savor the moment. When it came his time to speak, he said essentially this: "I've been looking out at you during the speeches, and I know every one here. And I know that each of you knows at least one story which if declared publicly would have kept me from ever becoming a judge." His words had the power of a hypnotic suggestion - there was a moment of silence as each person searched his or her mind, then everyone laughed.
Of course, Judge Freeman, the accomplished storyteller that he is, exaggerates sometimes.
On the day when Justice Kinser was sworn in at Lee High School in Ben Hur, it was a great day. I rode over from Bristol with Jim Green and Joe Lyle. Afterwards, as the day was fine, I suggested that instead of going straight back to Bristol, we should detour to see my grandmother on the other side of Jonesville, and so we did. We almost missed her, she arrived as we were walking back to the car. You could hear the gravel fly as she mashed the brakes when she realized there were three men in dark suits standing in the road in front of her house. She came on, and oh, she was so glad to see us, and how handsome we were, she said, in our lawyer suits. We began trying to explain to her what we were doing in Lee County that day. I told her we had been to the high school. She said, "oh, were you taking a course?" "No, Grandma, we were there for a ceremony." Jim began telling her what a historic event it was, the elevation of a lawyer from Lee County to the highest court in Virginia.
But Grandma was unimpressed. She replied, as only a grandma could: "Well, now, Steven will be right up there soon."
Some years later, I attended the event for Judge Freeman at the Lincoln Theatre in downtown Marion. Following some good advice from Judge Flannagan, Judge Freeman studied the crowd, to savor the moment. When it came his time to speak, he said essentially this: "I've been looking out at you during the speeches, and I know every one here. And I know that each of you knows at least one story which if declared publicly would have kept me from ever becoming a judge." His words had the power of a hypnotic suggestion - there was a moment of silence as each person searched his or her mind, then everyone laughed.
Of course, Judge Freeman, the accomplished storyteller that he is, exaggerates sometimes.
On getting a haircut
When I got married and we set up housekeeping in town, the nearest place to get a hair cut was up the street, and so I started going there. Sixteen years later, the same woman cuts my hair but she has cut back to working just one day a week. In the meantime, I've moved, and she's moved a couple of times. She's had trouble with carpal tunnel syndrome. Often she has bandages on her wrists. I don't know what she charges. I would pay her more, and sometimes do.
Usually, I get my hair cut about every three months, need it or not, more often would be a waste. The last thing I want is to get someone new to cut my hair, and so I often complain that I cannot manage to coordinate my schedule with hers, but I get no sympathy. The general response is some questioning about why I find it imperative to have someone with reduced feeling in her hands come at my neck with scissors.
For a while when I was a kid in Abingdon, we patronized Flanary's Barber Shop on Main Street. He had a sign that read, "No long hair styles." I don't recall that he used scissors, rather he buzzed everyone equally in a manner as short on length as it was short on "style." He had a drawer full of bubble gum, a sample of which came with the price of a trim.
If I have to switch hair cutters, I hope I can at least find one with bubble gum.
Usually, I get my hair cut about every three months, need it or not, more often would be a waste. The last thing I want is to get someone new to cut my hair, and so I often complain that I cannot manage to coordinate my schedule with hers, but I get no sympathy. The general response is some questioning about why I find it imperative to have someone with reduced feeling in her hands come at my neck with scissors.
For a while when I was a kid in Abingdon, we patronized Flanary's Barber Shop on Main Street. He had a sign that read, "No long hair styles." I don't recall that he used scissors, rather he buzzed everyone equally in a manner as short on length as it was short on "style." He had a drawer full of bubble gum, a sample of which came with the price of a trim.
If I have to switch hair cutters, I hope I can at least find one with bubble gum.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
On leave to amend, stigmatization, and Mooks
In Sciolino v. City of Newport News, the Fourth Circuit in an opinion by Judge Motz reversed Judge Jackson for denying the plaintiff leave to amend his section 1983 claim against the city and its police chief, Chief Mook, based on the murky area of the deprivation of "liberty" in the form of stigmatization by the government. Judge Wilkinson dissents at some length, complaining that the majority opinion admits of the possibility that "a document in a government file drawer can violate a constitutional liberty interest in reputation and future employment."
What struck my imagination, of course, was the name of the Chief, recalling Law and Order's Lennie Briscoe, who once said the answer to question what did the police detective do today was that he had "arrested a couple of mooks." The term "mook" was previously unknown to me. The only Mook I had heard of was the fellow who hit the ball through Bill Buckner's legs in the 1986 World Series, the famous image of which you can buy framed for $199.
What struck my imagination, of course, was the name of the Chief, recalling Law and Order's Lennie Briscoe, who once said the answer to question what did the police detective do today was that he had "arrested a couple of mooks." The term "mook" was previously unknown to me. The only Mook I had heard of was the fellow who hit the ball through Bill Buckner's legs in the 1986 World Series, the famous image of which you can buy framed for $199.
Film festival in Southwest Virginia?
This press release says:
"The Top Ten Films in America Festival will be held in the mountains of southwestern Virginia in the Town of Fries and the City of Galax, April 19-22, 2007. The film festival is sponsored by the Town of Fries, The Galax City Department of Tourism, the Fries Recreation Center, The Carroll County Department of Tourism and the Drydock Film Corporation. Venues will include the Fries Theater in Fries and the famous REX Theater in Galax. There will be a separate acting competition during the film festival in which winners will have the opportunity to present their acting talents in front of film producers and talent agents. The film festival will showcase films in the categories of Feature Films, Short Films, and Documentaries with a special category for Foreign Films. As has been the tradition, the Backroads Radio Show will be broadcast from the REX Theatre on Friday night and film festival attendees will be able to sit in on the show which focuses on the best of mountain traditional and Bluegrass music. Film makers may submit directly from the festival web site or through Without A Box online.
Drydock Film Corporation, one of the film festival sponsors is also scheduled to have the Virginia Premiere of MORNING SONG WAY, during the festival on Friday April 20th in Fries and again on Saturday April 21st at the REX Theater in Galax. The film will be coming up from its Florida premiere at the Delray Beach Film Festival March 17th at 5:P.M. MORNING SONG WAY was the first production by the company which has produced two motion pictures in a little over a year both of which were filmed in Virginia and North Carolina and both of which star Virginia actors. MORNING SONG WAY with a largely Native American cast is the story of a little girl who witnesses a murder and is hidden up in the mountains of Virginia with her great uncle, a Native American Medicine Man. It is a very powerful film about the topic of cultural loss. MORNING SONG WAY has already been in film festivals in Los Angeles and New York and has won eleven awards so far including Best Dramatic Film at the Native American Film Festival in Columbia, South Carolina and four honorable mentions at the International Cherokee Film Festival sponsored by the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. It is mentioned in the March/April issue of NATIVE PEOPLES magazine, one of the largest Native American magazines in North America, Virginia actress Jennifer Redbird is from the area around Fries where most of the picture was filmed and Glenda Bean lives in the Brush Creek Community right on Brush Creek. Both of them star in the film. Bean is a Catawba/Cherokee Indian and Redbird is of white, Hispanic, and Ani-Stohini/Unami descent. Roanoke native Brian Hall also has a strong supporting role in the film. Although the movie will not be eligible for any awards at the festival since Drydock is one of the festival sponsors, it is hoped that the Premiere will help to promote the festival and help to bring celebrities in. Virginia actors Brian Hall and Chris Bookless also have a supporting role in the film. The movie also stars famous Native American Blues guitarist Elvus Kishketon, Jr., and Seminole/Creek Actor Jeff Anderson, both of Oklahoma and includes soundtrack music by Joseph “Z”, and Jerry Eaglefeather Monroe."
Another film, by Drydock, SPIES and MOLASSES, which completes filming this month also stars Glenda Bean and Brian Hall. It is a romantic comedy, spy, martial arts film and also stars Chippewa(Ojibway) Indians Brooke Hidde, and Dawn St. Marie. Atlanta celebrity and martial artist Jessica Vines also stars. The majority of the Drydock family of actors from both films will be in attendance at the festival along with personal friends of film Director Charles Howard Thomas and invited celebrities and guests.
There will be a red carpet in front of the theaters for all films which will premiere during the film festival and a chance for the press to shoot celebrities. After each premiere, there will also be a chance for festival goers to question the stars after the showing of the films."
Speaking of Fries, here's another Crooked Road music story, from Cox News Service.
I once asked the correct pronunciation of the name of the Town of Fries, and was told that it's Fries like French Fries in the summer and Freeze in the winter.
"The Top Ten Films in America Festival will be held in the mountains of southwestern Virginia in the Town of Fries and the City of Galax, April 19-22, 2007. The film festival is sponsored by the Town of Fries, The Galax City Department of Tourism, the Fries Recreation Center, The Carroll County Department of Tourism and the Drydock Film Corporation. Venues will include the Fries Theater in Fries and the famous REX Theater in Galax. There will be a separate acting competition during the film festival in which winners will have the opportunity to present their acting talents in front of film producers and talent agents. The film festival will showcase films in the categories of Feature Films, Short Films, and Documentaries with a special category for Foreign Films. As has been the tradition, the Backroads Radio Show will be broadcast from the REX Theatre on Friday night and film festival attendees will be able to sit in on the show which focuses on the best of mountain traditional and Bluegrass music. Film makers may submit directly from the festival web site or through Without A Box online.
Drydock Film Corporation, one of the film festival sponsors is also scheduled to have the Virginia Premiere of MORNING SONG WAY, during the festival on Friday April 20th in Fries and again on Saturday April 21st at the REX Theater in Galax. The film will be coming up from its Florida premiere at the Delray Beach Film Festival March 17th at 5:P.M. MORNING SONG WAY was the first production by the company which has produced two motion pictures in a little over a year both of which were filmed in Virginia and North Carolina and both of which star Virginia actors. MORNING SONG WAY with a largely Native American cast is the story of a little girl who witnesses a murder and is hidden up in the mountains of Virginia with her great uncle, a Native American Medicine Man. It is a very powerful film about the topic of cultural loss. MORNING SONG WAY has already been in film festivals in Los Angeles and New York and has won eleven awards so far including Best Dramatic Film at the Native American Film Festival in Columbia, South Carolina and four honorable mentions at the International Cherokee Film Festival sponsored by the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. It is mentioned in the March/April issue of NATIVE PEOPLES magazine, one of the largest Native American magazines in North America, Virginia actress Jennifer Redbird is from the area around Fries where most of the picture was filmed and Glenda Bean lives in the Brush Creek Community right on Brush Creek. Both of them star in the film. Bean is a Catawba/Cherokee Indian and Redbird is of white, Hispanic, and Ani-Stohini/Unami descent. Roanoke native Brian Hall also has a strong supporting role in the film. Although the movie will not be eligible for any awards at the festival since Drydock is one of the festival sponsors, it is hoped that the Premiere will help to promote the festival and help to bring celebrities in. Virginia actors Brian Hall and Chris Bookless also have a supporting role in the film. The movie also stars famous Native American Blues guitarist Elvus Kishketon, Jr., and Seminole/Creek Actor Jeff Anderson, both of Oklahoma and includes soundtrack music by Joseph “Z”, and Jerry Eaglefeather Monroe."
Another film, by Drydock, SPIES and MOLASSES, which completes filming this month also stars Glenda Bean and Brian Hall. It is a romantic comedy, spy, martial arts film and also stars Chippewa(Ojibway) Indians Brooke Hidde, and Dawn St. Marie. Atlanta celebrity and martial artist Jessica Vines also stars. The majority of the Drydock family of actors from both films will be in attendance at the festival along with personal friends of film Director Charles Howard Thomas and invited celebrities and guests.
There will be a red carpet in front of the theaters for all films which will premiere during the film festival and a chance for the press to shoot celebrities. After each premiere, there will also be a chance for festival goers to question the stars after the showing of the films."
Speaking of Fries, here's another Crooked Road music story, from Cox News Service.
I once asked the correct pronunciation of the name of the Town of Fries, and was told that it's Fries like French Fries in the summer and Freeze in the winter.
Monday, March 12, 2007
On Wise County lawyer Kenneth Asbury
The Bristol paper reports here on the life and times of Kenneth Asbury, a Wise County lawyer who was instrumental in the founding of what became the University of Virginia - College at Wise.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
The draft LEO that would allow the law firms of legislators to lobby
Here is the proposed LEO 1829, which strikes me as an abomination. If that's what the Rules allow, then the Rules should be changed.
There's something going on that I don't quite understand. In an era when judges and lawyers are viewed with less respect and more contempt, the Model Code for lawyers (adopted in Virginia not that long ago) and proposals this year and a couple of years ago for the Model Code for judges (as described here) eliminate the avoidance of "the appearance of impropriety" as an ethical requirement. In practice, that language however ambiguous it may sound made it easy for lawyers and judges to do the right thing - when in doubt, get out. The Conference of Chief Justices opposed the ABA proposal to take this provision out of the Model Code for judges.
The New York Times had this to say last month:
"At a moment when judicial independence is under heightened political attack, the nation’s legal establishment should be doing everything it can to shore up public trust. Instead, the special commission charged with recommending revisions to the Model Code of Judicial Conduct of the American Bar Association has been flip-flopping around on some of the most important aspects of the code, which the states use to set standards for their courts.
For decades, the code's overarching charge to judges has been to avoid not only actual impropriety, but also the appearance of impropriety. Recently, however, quietly adopted changes to the commission's 'final' report demoted this gold standard of judicial conduct from an enforceable rule to a mere aspirational guideline.
When the misguided switch came to light, the panel reversed field again yesterday and went back to the previous formulation. But that does not excuse the fact that the panel was following internal politics, not sound legal principle. The change might have eluded public attention if Robert Tembeckjian, the administrator of the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, had not protested and Adam Liptak had not reported on the matter in The Times this week."
There's something going on that I don't quite understand. In an era when judges and lawyers are viewed with less respect and more contempt, the Model Code for lawyers (adopted in Virginia not that long ago) and proposals this year and a couple of years ago for the Model Code for judges (as described here) eliminate the avoidance of "the appearance of impropriety" as an ethical requirement. In practice, that language however ambiguous it may sound made it easy for lawyers and judges to do the right thing - when in doubt, get out. The Conference of Chief Justices opposed the ABA proposal to take this provision out of the Model Code for judges.
The New York Times had this to say last month:
"At a moment when judicial independence is under heightened political attack, the nation’s legal establishment should be doing everything it can to shore up public trust. Instead, the special commission charged with recommending revisions to the Model Code of Judicial Conduct of the American Bar Association has been flip-flopping around on some of the most important aspects of the code, which the states use to set standards for their courts.
For decades, the code's overarching charge to judges has been to avoid not only actual impropriety, but also the appearance of impropriety. Recently, however, quietly adopted changes to the commission's 'final' report demoted this gold standard of judicial conduct from an enforceable rule to a mere aspirational guideline.
When the misguided switch came to light, the panel reversed field again yesterday and went back to the previous formulation. But that does not excuse the fact that the panel was following internal politics, not sound legal principle. The change might have eluded public attention if Robert Tembeckjian, the administrator of the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, had not protested and Adam Liptak had not reported on the matter in The Times this week."
Saturday night stuff
The Roanoke paper had this account of the life and times of Thomas Mason, who as a lawyer served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia and nearly became a federal judge, and who as an actor had a part in "Gods and Generals" but specialized in playing the role of Elwood Dowd in "Harvey." The article quotes former Del. Chip Woodrum as saying: "He was Elwood P. Dowd." The article also notes that Mason served in the Navy with John F. Kennedy. I read recently that at the end of the Johnson administration, the White House did not fill a vacancy on the Western District of Virginia when the Commonwealth's U.S. Senators could not agree as between a Virginia Supreme Court justice and Mason as the best choice for the job - and so President Nixon got to fill the position, with Emory Widener, in 1969.
Regarding infallible technology, these items: first, the Richmond paper has this article questioning whose DNA should be in the state's DNA database. Yours? Mine? Second, the Richmond paper reported here that someone spoofed an e-mail to make it look as though it came from the head of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency. Finally, it appears that Virginia's new utility law could bring new nuclear power plants to Virginia, according to this report in the Daily Press.
Finally, I started reading this piece in the Bluefield paper because it includes a segment on the need for an additional judge in Mercer County, which is just over the line, but the part that intrigued me even more was this:
" At least 10,000 years ago, a bison-sized, giant ground sloth with large banana-shaped claws inhabited the West Virginia mountains, according to a report from Delegate Mike Burdiss, D-Wyoming (District 22 including a portion of Mercer). Because of the history connected to the sloth and its claws, the lawmaker has sponsored House Concurrent Resolution 2, which would establish the Megalonyx Jeffersonii as West Virginia’s state fossil.
Burdiss said he has taken this action to bring about a better understanding of American History and encourage the study of fossils, which provide a tangible connection to our past.
Burdiss has this historical story to tell: In the 1790s, President Thomas Jefferson, knowing much of the world was yet to be discovered, commissioned a group of explorers to look for the animal during an expedition as he believed that the sloths were not extinct.
The first trace of the massive creature was found in Organ Cave in modern-day Monroe County that same decade. When President Jefferson saw the fossil bones, which were recovered from the cave, he proclaimed the claws were so large that it must have belonged to a great cat or lion.
Thus, the historic fossils received its name, Megalonyx Jeffersonii, meaning Jefferson’s Giant Claw."
Regarding infallible technology, these items: first, the Richmond paper has this article questioning whose DNA should be in the state's DNA database. Yours? Mine? Second, the Richmond paper reported here that someone spoofed an e-mail to make it look as though it came from the head of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency. Finally, it appears that Virginia's new utility law could bring new nuclear power plants to Virginia, according to this report in the Daily Press.
Finally, I started reading this piece in the Bluefield paper because it includes a segment on the need for an additional judge in Mercer County, which is just over the line, but the part that intrigued me even more was this:
" At least 10,000 years ago, a bison-sized, giant ground sloth with large banana-shaped claws inhabited the West Virginia mountains, according to a report from Delegate Mike Burdiss, D-Wyoming (District 22 including a portion of Mercer). Because of the history connected to the sloth and its claws, the lawmaker has sponsored House Concurrent Resolution 2, which would establish the Megalonyx Jeffersonii as West Virginia’s state fossil.
Burdiss said he has taken this action to bring about a better understanding of American History and encourage the study of fossils, which provide a tangible connection to our past.
Burdiss has this historical story to tell: In the 1790s, President Thomas Jefferson, knowing much of the world was yet to be discovered, commissioned a group of explorers to look for the animal during an expedition as he believed that the sloths were not extinct.
The first trace of the massive creature was found in Organ Cave in modern-day Monroe County that same decade. When President Jefferson saw the fossil bones, which were recovered from the cave, he proclaimed the claws were so large that it must have belonged to a great cat or lion.
Thus, the historic fossils received its name, Megalonyx Jeffersonii, meaning Jefferson’s Giant Claw."
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